Great art was newly essential in a socially distanced world.
Anyone out there feeling normal?
Anyone out there feeling best?
Credit: Illustration by Kyle Hilton for EW
Distract yourself from global calamities by merely worrying about the disasters the pandemic brought to show business.
In 2019, Disney released seven movies that grossed more than a billion dollars.
This year, theres no such thing as a billion-dollar movie.
The studios woes are not unique, and they sum up just how many tipping points defined 2020.
Start with Disney, though, to explain the power of great entertainment in this terrible year.
Meanwhile, the rise of Disney+ reflected streamings newfound centrality.
Thats all directly attributable to Netflix, the face HBO Max yearns to see in the mirror.
It was a year of delays and cancellations.
Timbaland and Swizz BeatzmadeVerzuzinto a livestreaming showcasefor a few generations of musical legends.
Taylor Swift went home andrecorded her most acclaimed album in years.
Megan Thee Stallion didnt miss a beat on her journey to omnipresent megastardom.
Sarah Cooper started lip-synching Donald Trump on TikTok, and now people my age understand what TikTok is.
I miss movie theaters, and feel nostalgic for our dumb arguments about big action movies.
Yet there was a strange grace in our de-blockbusterized film culture.
The lack of superheroes meantDelroy Lindos stunningDa 5 Bloodsperformancewasthesummertime event.
But pop culture also offered catharsis, as audiences sought insight into our strange new reality.
Lets not sugarcoat this.
Movie theaters are bankrupt.
Live performance is on life support.
Bookstores struggle on good days, and there are no good days.
(Stay safe,Superstore!)
(No offense,Animal Crossing!)
Still, there are reasons for hope.
Its always darkest, and all that.
The next president listens to scientists, so thats a big improvement already.
In moments of despair, think of Ben Affleck.
A couple of years ago, the onetimeArgoOscar winner was a meme-y, unfortunately-tattooed tabloid casualty.
Now hes rocketing off comeback reviews forThe Way Backtoward an intriguing slate of projects.
Against all odds and good sense, he will play Batman again.
2020 was the absolute worst.
2021 wont have to try too hard to be the best.
